Friday, April 15, 2011

Additional Information on Barrasso Direct Air Capture Bill

The Barrasso/Bingaman CDR bill (S. 757) is now available for review here. The proposed text provides additional information and clarification on the bill (for original post, see "CDR Bill Reintroduced in US Senate," 4/9). Most importantly, this bill is focused specifically on direct air capture technology, not on other forms of CDR. Initial discussions of the bill in the press referred to CCS, but S. 757 does not address carbon storage either. (CCS is a more common term, and commentators may have equated point-source post-combustion "carbon capture" with ambient "air capture.") Lastly, the Barrasso bill envisions prizes, not grants, which is significant in that prizes reward technology that has already been developed while grants support the development process itself (the bill does not specify award amounts).